Garrett didn’t care. He bragged he kept extra copies around and let them slip on the floor if a woman was initially resistant to his boyish charms. Kennedy deadpanned to his brother. “You will go nowhere near Hope or any of her friends.” Garrett whistled. “Oh boy, big brother’s got it bad, doesn’t he?” He smiled to Franklin. Franklin smiled back. “If you met this one Garrett, you’d understand. As beautiful on the inside as on the out.” Garrett pushed his luck. “I don’t care what they look like on the inside, but I do care what they taste like on the inside.” He raised and lowered his eyebrows a few times and smiled widely revealing smaller versions of his big brother’s sexy dimples. Kennedy ran his fingers through his hair and looked to Franklin for support, completely ignoring Garrett. “It’s driving me crazy that she is so far away. Last week I watched some drunk asshole put his hands on her and I nearly lost my mind. “ “So move her out here.” Franklin shrugged his shoulders like it was a simple solution. Garrett arched an eyebrow at his brother. “Are you in love with her?” Words weren’t necessary. Garrett and Franklin smiled and watched Kennedy toss his drink back and blow out a deep breath. How had he not realized that he had fallen in love with Hope until now?
Chapter 1 4
Wednesday morning I was halfway to work when I started to have the feeling that someone was watching me. It wasn’t the first time that I had felt it lately. Today it just seemed closer. I looked around as I quickened my pace and saw a typical New York City morning. Masses of people walking in all directions at twice the speed that people moved back in Oregon. People alone with headphones, people talking on the phone, cars trying to turn while people filled the walkway. I scanned the crowd again when I reached the final block to work and slowed to really look at the people around me. No one in particular seemed to be watching me. Now that I was done training on the general hotel positions, my days were caught up in event planning. Most days I spent half the day meeting with potential new clients who were interested in planning an event at The Monet, and the other half working on planning events that had been booked. Today I spent the morning with a woman that I had vaguely recognized from the society pages, who was interested in booking her daughter’s first birthday in the Grand Ballroom. While it was great for business, I had to wonder what the woman would do for the little girl’s second or third birthday to top such an exaggerated first party. Lunchtime came quickly and I decided to have lunch in the park before making my way over to Park Avenue for an afternoon meeting with a party planner I would be working with on an upcoming charity event held at The Monet. The leaves in the park were almost all on the ground and the ground was filled with vibrant autumn color. Deep orange and reds lined the path though the park and I decided to sit on a park bench close to the dog park. I loved to watch the owners interact with their dogs when they thought no one was looking. I wasn’t sure if it was the feeling of being watched this morning, seeing dogs run around in an open area, or the beautiful fall colors that made me want to call my dad to check in. We hadn’t spoken in a while and I knew that he was expecting me home for Thanksgiving. “Hi Candace, is my dad around?” I knew she hated it when I called her Candace. Everyone else called her